A smoke-free cigarette is known from WO 2004/098324 A2. It has a replaceable piece (nicotine depot), a reusable piece with a sleeve and a heating device as well as a storage and charging station having an accumulator and a thermostat. The heating device of the reusable piece has a heating spiral and a heat-storing medium, with airflow passages being provided between the heat-storing medium and the sleeve. The reusable piece can be received in the storage and charging station for the purpose of heating, with the heating spiral of the reusable part been heated for so long until the thermostat ends the heating process.
An ideal heat transfer to the thermal reservoir and a precise reaching of the desired temperature are not always ensured by ending the heating process on the basis of a corresponding signal of a thermostat.
A mobile inhalation unit is known from EP-A-0 430 559 in which an active agent depot is maintained at a relatively constant operating temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,752 describes a mobile inhalation unit having a heating spiral which is used for cleaning purposes.